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Veterans plenary
Meeting of Veterans plenary - 28 March 2007
USofS closing Speech – Veterans Plenary Forum
Introduction
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Whilst this is the first opportunity I’ve had as Veterans Minister to address the Forum I have had the opportunity to meet a number of you in recent months. What’s so particularly valuable about the Plenary Forum - I think – is that it’s a chance to bring together a wide range of experience and expertise. Each of you is a Veterans Champion
I know that many of you have travelled some distance to get here – thank you for making that journey. And I know I speak for all of us here - and most especially my colleagues from our Veterans Policy Unit, when I say how very grateful we are for your commitment. You are a valued partner in our drive to raise the profile of the Veterans Community.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank COBSEO – Tony Stables (Air Vice-Marshall Tony Stables – COBSEO Chair) – you and your team provide a powerful voice for all the organisations here today.
Veterans – a diverse group
As I look around I’m reminded of just how diverse veterans are. The invitation list for today’s Plenary extended to some 190 different organisations – as their representatives, you know better than anyone - there’s no such thing as a typical Veteran. The Veterans community numbers some 5 million men and women – from every walk of life and every generation. Each deserves support that reflects the special commitment and service that you have given. From the 25 year old Iraq veteran to the veterans of the Normandy landings I met last week in Portsmouth. What they all have in common is that they are ‘givers’ – individuals who continue to contribute to their communities and society as a whole. There’s a lot of talk nowadays about the need to ‘build social capital’. Well – this bunch certainly do that. Raising their profile – a common goal for all of us – will certainly help to get that message across. And – most importantly – make them feel valued in the way they should be.
Easing the transition: new ‘light – touch’ mentoring scheme
Easing the transition into ‘Civvy Street’ is an important part of our work. And for some that can be a difficult process, particularly for Early Service Leavers. We’re currently working with the War Pensions Welfare Service and ex-service charities on piloting a ‘light touch’ mentoring scheme that we hope will empower some of the more vulnerable. By making sure practical help is on hand – to help in claiming entitlements, for example, or applying for housing. We aim to make sure these men and women are better equipped to for the next chapter in their lives.
Health Care
Of course, making sure service personnel are well looked after and supported during their service career is an important part of that preparation too. I hope you found Chris Williams (DMSD) observations on in-service Health Care a useful insight into the level of medical care and support we’re currently providing for serving personnel. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Rosie Winterton, for coming along today to talk about the part Health is playing in smoothing the transfer to civilian life and beyond by improving the support we offer Veterans who are suffering from mental health problems.
There really are far too many gaps at the moment in the way services are provided and we’re committed to addressing these. Discussion is well advanced on the proposed new health model and it is hoped that the service will be piloted at sites across the UK from this spring.
Welfare Conference
Raising the profile of Veterans health is a key priority. I think we have to be realistic here – there are no ‘quick fix’ solutions. This is a huge area and effective co-ordination is vital. Some of you may already be aware that we’ll be holding a high-level Welfare Conference next month here in London to address some of these issues. It’s going to be an opportunity for the military themselves – along with the relevant departments from the MOD, the veterans community and the Department of Health - to get together and see how – together - we can close some of the gaps. Our ambition is to improve our current arrangements for welfare support of the most vulnerable service leavers, in particular those who have been wounded and medically discharged.
I know Peter Wilkinson (Rear Admiral Peter Wilkinson – Defence Services Spokesman) spoke to you a little earlier about what’s been happening over the past 12 months. Peter is absolutely right when he talks about the need for strong partnerships across every sector - public, private and voluntary – as we all work towards securing ever better support for our veterans and their families.
And those partnerships will certainly come to the fore over the next 12
months.
The new Service Personnel Veterans Agency
Next week will see the launch of the new Service Personnel Veterans Agency. This new organisation is essentially a merger of the Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency (AFPAA) and the Veterans Agency. As a really effective ‘One Stop’ point of contact for the payment of pensions , awarding of compensation and provision of welfare support, it’s going to make life a lot easier for your members - Veterans and their widows.
A new brand ‘Veterans UK’
It’s all about modernising and streamlining the way we deliver our services to our customer – today’s Veteran and their family. Making sure they know about the support available and how to access it is key. Some of you will know that we’ve also been working towards developing a unified service for Veterans: ‘Veterans UK’. A new website with a ‘Knowledge Map’ and extensive links to service charities like yours will be an important part of the new brand. I’ll be announcing details at a later date. But in the meantime I think we can all welcome this move which should make life easier for you and the veterans you support. One thing that’s become increasingly clear to me since I’ve been Veterans Minister is that all too often Veterans just aren’t aware of all the support that’s out there for them. We’re in the business of changing that.
Current MOD research on Veterans issues
We’ve got to be proactive, scan the horizon and look ahead. Research
is an important part of that. We’ve already heard from Rosie Winterton
about the work we’re doing with her department to improve access to
mental healthcare for our veterans.
And we’re doing our bit. Since 2004 we’ve
been monitoring the health of cohorts of troops serving on operations in
Iraq, and Afghanistan. Our aim is to make sure any potential health or
welfare problems can be identified quickly and properly addressed.
Research is also on-going into areas right across the spectrum of our work. Health
issues such as our study into the delayed onset of Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder, for example. Monitoring suicide levels among recent service leavers.
Or the research being undertaken by the University of York on the effectiveness
of interventions by Government and the charitable sector to prevent homelessness
in London.
There’s a lot to be done and I think we’re all going to be busy
over the next 12 months. We’ll be looking to you for feedback on how
we’re doing. And of course we’re always open to new ideas. As
far as I’m concerned this is the kind of honest and open dialogue that
is part and parcel of really effective partnerships. Partnerships that can
really make a difference to the support and practical help we give our Veterans
and their families.
Looking ahead – Veterans Day
Finally – and I’m sure none of you need reminding about this – Veterans Day is just a matter of weeks away. 27 June is now a firm fixture in the national calendar. And I know many of you are busy at a regional level helping to plan and co-ordinate events for the day. Birmingham has been chosen as this year’s flagship city to stage a series of events; their bid was a model of the sort of imaginative programme that recognises the breadth of the contribution made by veterans. And I was in Portsmouth last week launching a campaign to raise awareness among the Veterans community there of the work of the Veterans Agency. As the home of the Task Force this year’s Veterans Day holds a special significance for the city as we mark the 25th Anniversary of the Falklands Conflict.
There’s still plenty of time to organise an event for Veterans Day so I would urge any of you who’d like advice on how to do that - get in touch with our Veterans Policy Unit. Many of them are here today, and they will be delighted to help. And on that note I would encourage you (the ex-service organisations) to once again bring a stall to Veterans Day at Greenwich. It’s a great opportunity to promote your organisation to an anticipated audience of between 5,000 & 7,000 people. Anyone who would like to should contact Carol Edge, Secretary of COBSEO, who’s also here today.
Conclusion
And now – over to you. I think we’ve covered a lot of ground this morning and I’m interested to hear your thoughts on some of these issues. Thank you.
(An open forum will now follow, chaired by Air Vice Marshall Tony Stables, Chairman of COBSEO)
